In the prior art there are two major kinds of flame simulating assembly used for an electric fireplace. One kind of the apparatus produces a flame vision by rotating the blades of a horizontally-installed rotational axis, which is parallel to an imaging screen. The reflection sides of the blades reflect the light from a light source and then radial moving light beams are produced. A flame shape is formed through the flame holes on a flame board and is projected onto an imaging screen and a mirror glass. Then a flame vision is produced. The other kind produces a flame vision by rotating hollow light transmitting cylinder which is horizontally installed and parallel to an imaging screen. For example, Chinese Patent Application No. 200310122956.0 disclosed an electric fireplace, in which radial moving light beams passed through the fixed holes on a light transmitting cylinder and a flame shape was formed through the flame holes on a flame board and then projected onto an imaging screen and a mirror glass.
Although the abovementioned flame simulating assembly can produce the effect of a rising “flame”, the flame board and the imaging screen locates on the same side of a light source and it must maintains certain distance among them in order to produce a flame vision. Thus the width of such an apparatus is relatively large and it is difficult to manufacture a thin product. Furthermore, due to the even distribution of the light intensity through flame holes in the prior art the brightness of the entire flame almost keeps uniform and no pattern of light and dark can be obtained.